Highlights
- Sauron's physical form is often misunderstood - he had a body and could manipulate his appearance, but lost that ability after the initial destruction of his body.
- Sauron was busy during the events of The Lord of the Rings, raising armies and enlisting the help of the Nazgul, and corrupting Saruman to retrieve the One Ring.
- If Sauron had personally fought against the fellowship, he would likely have been defeated due to Aragorn's possession of Narsil and the combined might of the fellowship's warriors. Sauron was not as competent a fighter as many believe.
When it comes to The Lord Of The Rings series, fans have so many questions about what did and what could have happened throughout the story. If only tiny changes happened in a few key moments, the entire story could have gone shockingly differently, and one major thing that could have made a difference would have been in Sauron took action himself.
Sauron is the great evil of Middle Earth throughout The Lord Of The Rings, though he is never actually seen in physical form outside of the prologue of the first film. He was one of the most powerful beings in existence, so some fans have wondered why exactly Sauron didn’t just march with his armies to claim the ring from Frodo early on during his quest to destroy the One Ring.
Did Sauron Have A Body?
One of the biggest misconceptions of the original The Lord Of The Rings trilogy is that Sauron was nothing more than that iconic flaming eye, but if the context from the books is to be believed, that couldn’t be further from the truth. On a few different occasions, Sauron’s physical form is actually described or mentioned by a variety of characters, and he was even acting in Middle Earth as a necromancer long before he ever began his final campaign to take control of the land. He used to be able to manipulate his appearance to a great degree, but he lost that ability after the initial destruction of his body many years earlier.
The large form of Sauron seen in the prologue of the first film is a result of his inability to continue his manipulative ways. Existing as a massive and terrifying being isn’t exactly bad after his body had already been destroyed, but it meant Sauron was often forced to make bolder moves. Thanks to Sauron pouring some of his being into the One Ring, the only way for him to ever be truly defeated was for the ring itself to be destroyed, as this would rid the realm of enough of his power so that he could not become a physical form ever again.
The large flaming eye that’s seen throughout the movies is a representation of Sauron’s influence across Middle Earth, something that is seen in the novels through the symbol of the Eye of Sauron. Put into the context of Sauron’s great strength, it could be assumed that the great Eye of Sauron at the top of Barad-Dur was simply more of the mighty villain's magics at work. Sauron was potentially just sitting somewhere inside his dark fortress throughout the film trilogy, waiting and hoping someone like Aragorn would be foolish enough to wield the One Ring and take the fight directly to him.
What Was Sauron Doing During The Lord Of The Rings?
Believe it or not, Sauron was a rather busy evil lord during the Third Age, and that extends to the events of The Lord Of The Rings. A short time prior to the events of the movies, Gandalf and Saruman (among other beings) actually confronted Sauron in an attempt to stop him before his evil had gone too far. While victorious, Sauron had planned for the attack and simply returned to Mordor where he would begin his final push for dominance that resulted in the main struggle of the trilogy.
It was the early eras of the War of the Ring that saw Sauron raising his armies with sheer numbers and brutal foes. Sauron would enlist the help of his Nazgul to retrieve the One Ring from Frodo after torturing Gollum for information on the ring’s location. The master of evil likely already had quite an impressive army of orcs at his disposal, but he would add to his power by somehow managing to corrupt Saruman the White. While the nature of the corruption isn’t obvious, one likely method was through the Palantir that Saruman would have been wielding combined with any already negative emotion the wizard held.
With a wizard as powerful as Saruman at his disposal, Sauron was able to ease back and allow the corrupted wizard to continue the efforts of bolstering Sauron’s army. Information on the lord of evil would be hard to come by until Pippin and Aragorn would both confront Sauron through the same Palantir. It was at this point that Sauron would be outplayed by Gandalf and the might of Men when they made a gamble that ended up paying off, allowing for the One Ring to eventually be destroyed in Mount Doom.
Could The Fellowship Have Beaten Sauron?
When trying to determine whether or not Sauron could have defeated the fellowship or not, a lot has to be taken into account. It’s probably a safe bet that if Sauron had personally attempted to combat the fellowship from the novelization, he would have lost outright. The major reasons for this are Sauron not possessing the ring, Aragorn already having Narsil reforged in his possession, and the combined might of the warriors of the fellowship would have been too much for him. Sauron is a far less competent fighter than most might think, with a shocking amount of losses to his name.
Had Sauron stood against Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir, there’s a high likelihood he would have been defeated early, sending his army into a scramble and leaving little resistance to Frodo’s journey. While a case could be made for things going differently with the film trilogy, the same could probably be said even if Aragorn wasn’t wielding Narsil because Narsil is just an ordinary sword (albeit a well-crafted sword). An attack aided by his army would have been an option, but any step out of the safety of his stronghold within Mordor would have likely been met by heavy resistance from everyone who came across him.
Sauron could have easily dispatched any of the Hobbits, but even if Amon Hen had occurred with Sauron present, he still could have potentially sealed his fate. If Sauron was unable to locate the Hobbit bearing the ring or found himself wounded (or had his physical form destroyed), it would be nothing but a race to Mount Doom. Even then, he couldn’t simply wait forever for someone to arrive with the ring if his goal was to take control of Middle Earth. Sauron may be a powerful being, but he still would have been limited in travel and combat options.
The Lord Of The Rings is available on Amazon Prime Video.